Mumbai. Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Wednesday said that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Congress and Shiv Sena will not only continue to rule Maharashtra but also come to power at the Center by ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Will come NCP national spokesperson Malik made the remarks in the wake of claims made by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut.
Raut had claimed that “some people” had approached him and asked him to assist in toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra so that mid-term elections could be held in the state. In a letter to Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday, Raut also alleged that central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) formed the government in Maharashtra after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party sided with the NCP and Congress. Targeting Shiv Sena leaders.
The three parties formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra after the Shiv Sena severed ties with long-term ally BJP over the issue of sharing the chief minister’s post after the 2019 assembly elections. Supporting Raut, Malik said what the Shiv Sena leader said was “true” and NCP leaders were also being targeted.
“But, it is their (BJP’s) illusion that we will be scared,” Malik claimed. No matter how hard they try, the (state) government will complete five years. This government will run for 25 years. We will be in power in the state and we will get power at the center as well.” The NCP leader also accused former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of being involved in the action of central agencies against the BJP’s opponents. “He is giving instructions (agencies) as to who they should target. You cannot grab power using ED. This is Maharashtra.”
He said that the more agencies take action against MVA leaders, the more support they will get from the people of Maharashtra. Malik also said that officers attached to central agencies should act as per law and not as workers of any political party. “No one is in power permanently,” he said.